Icelin Eldridge
Icelin Amelia Eldridge was a Lunar revolutionary, political theorist, sociologist, and stateswoman, serving as the first President of Luna from 2058 to 2070 and the first Premier of Luna from 2058 to 2082. She was a highly popular figure and remains so to this day, having since her death become the subject of a cult of personality. Under her leadership, the newly-founded Lunar state underwent dramatic transformations according to her designs, giving birth to the society and polity extant today through a large-scale sociological engineering program (the details of which remain classified to this day). She oversaw the creation of the modern Lunar form of government, the construction of its AI-planned economy, and its transition into a moneyless, post-scarcity society. A prolific writer and student of philosophy, Eldridge took inspiration from 19th and 20th century philosophers in developing her personal worldview. She authored a large number of political and sociological works, in so doing becoming a highly influential figure in late 21st and 22nd century political thought. Born to a relatively wealthy Canadian family, Eldridge began to develop her strong views after moving to the Moon in 2035. She became affiliated with a number of revolutionary groups and, during the Lunar Civil War which broke out shortly after Earth's Great War, was instrumental in the creation of a "united front" to oppose the earth-installed colonial governments which at that time dominated the Moon. After this front's consolidation and her rise to power, she pursued a swift campaign of "revolutionary terror" targeted at supporters of the old regime and "counter-revolutionary elements". Politlcal career President and Premier of Luna While in office, Eldridge wielded far more power than any president or premier since. This was partially a consequence of her occupying both roles at the same time - a situation which has not recurrd since - and partially a consequence of her popularity and the astronomical amount of political capital she held. Criticisms In recent years, some of Eldridge's actions while in office have begun to come under scrutiny. For example, she is considered by many political dissidents to have begun the Lunar policy (continuing in full force to this day) of deliberately sowing division and conflict on Earth, while at the same time criticising it for a "failure to learn the lessons of the past". Views Eldridge believed that the market-based economic and social systems of Earth had become obsolete, and that their flaws resulted in the stifling of human potential. She saw the tendency for resources and wealth to become highly concentrated as inevitably leading to eventual social collapse, and thus believed that the free-market experiment had "run its course", predicting that it would end disastrously. Opposed to social conservatism and traditionalism, she actively sought to phase out "unnecessary and restrictive" social norms and envisioned a much different society. Likewise, Eldridge was suspicious of the liberal-democratic system of government, and considered the political disagreements which made it necessary to be the result of contradictions present within free market systems, which a new system would lessen or eliminate. Therefore, she held that a better-designed system would not require politicians in the traditional sense, merely "technicians" whose role it would be to maintain the smooth running of society. Eldridge admired other revolutionary figures, especially Robespierre and Lenin, and often referred to various historical revolutions in her writings. Post-war writings Following the Great War and the eventual re-emergence of Earthly powers, Eldridge wrote extensively on what she called "a failure to learn the lessons of history". Chief amongst these was the apparent failure of humanity to learn lessons about what "artificial divisions" bring, and its subsequent consolidation into many opposing states rather than its unification, which she believed would sooner or later bring about an inevitable repetition of the Great War. Early life An only child, Eldridge's parents were of Quebecois and American descent, and were relatively financially comfortable. Despite living in Montreal, she spent a significant amount of time in rural New England, where her father's extended family lived. She enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley in 2028, at age 18, and completed a five-year course in 2033. Two years later, in summer 2035, she moved with her parents to the US Lunar Territory. It was then that Eldridge quickly began to develop her strong views. According to her, the trigger was the sight of Earth from space for the first time - it became self-evident and imperative that a new human society must come into being and that the old planetary order, along with all its evils, must be abolished. She quickly became involved with underground political movements, and between 2036 and 2050 developed most of her political philosophy, eventually attaining a position of influence within these resistance groups. Category:Maincanon characters Category:Maincanon